The Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanasis Davakis attended the annual event of the Hellenic Manufacturers of Defence Materiel Association that was held at the Athens Armed Forces Officers’ Club on Tuesday 10 February 2026.
Mr. Davakis in his brief addressed stated, amongst others, the following:
«In recent years, the defence industry worldwide, but especially in Europe, has experienced an unprecedented resurgence of interest.
Greece was hit by a long-term economic crisis, during which defence planning was based mainly on economic criteria. Following the political change in 2019, the Government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis took immediate action to fill the gaps. We increased our defence spending dramatically. We made large purchases to fill the gaps of previous years as quickly as possible.
Now, with «Agenda 2030» we are taking the next big step. A step towards utilizing and strengthening the domestic innovation ecosystem, as well as towards integrating domestic industry into international production chains.
The Hellenic Center for Defence Innovation (HCDI) and 6th Staff Directorate are keeping pace at an increasing rate and the initial results of this are already visible. We have set the criterion for domestic participation at 25% in new armament programmes. This has already been included in new contracts, while relevant agreements with Greek companies have already begun to be implemented.
As head of the Committee’s Working Group on Defence and Security Cooperation with Saudi Arabia, I would like to refer to the efforts we have made since last April to overcome obstacles and achieve significant progress, among other things, in the cooperation with the Riyadh defence industry sector. Together with the Kingdom’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Dr. Khaled bin Hussein Al – Biyari, during our bilateral meeting here at the Officers’ Club on October 14, we resolved all outstanding formal and procedural issues, so that cooperation with the Saudi Arabian General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) can now proceed smoothly.
I will conclude at this point with my warmest wishes for health, family happiness, and personal and professional success. And one more wish: may you always be distinguished by the assertiveness that sets you apart, both you Mr. President, and the members of SEKPY.
Thank you very much».
